Moya, Rios fall at Mercedes Cup

STUTTGART, Germany -- Carlos Moya and Marcelo Rios, two former top-ranked players, were ousted Friday in the quarterfinals of the $1 million Mercedes Cup.

On a cold, drizzling day, Moya lost to Tommy Haas of Germany 7-6 (7-3), 7-5. Rios, rusty from a five-week layoff, was swept 6-2, 6-2 by unseeded Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic.

In the semifinals on Saturday, Hass plays Alex Corretja of Spain and Novak faces Magnus Norman of Sweden.

Moya, the second-seeded Spaniard and 1998 French Open champion, squandered an early break and set point in the first set. Haas, an Australian Open semifinalist this year, began to vary his shots and finally broke at 5-5 in the second set.

"I'm surprised to be in the semifinals since I haven't played much lately," said Haas, who has taken a break since Wimbledon.

Rios, seeded third, was playing in his second tournament since coming back from a thigh injury at the Swiss Open. The Chilean has been repeatedly injured this year and his ranking has dropped to 11th.

Corretja, at No. 5 the highest-seeded player left, struggled past Vince Spadea of the United States 1-6, 6-3, 6-2. Norman won a battle of unseeded players, beating Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador 7-6, (7-5), 4-6, 6-2.